LE MARS, Iowa — On a farm north of Le Mars, Laurie Taylor raises hogs, hen, turkey, geese and, consider it or not, worms.
No, the worms aren’t for consuming.
In keeping with Taylor, an Iowa Grasp Gardener and the proprietor of Dwelling Treasures Flower Farm, the worms are used for his or her composting talents.
Vermicomposting — or composting with worms — is a terrific method of recycling scraps of meals, turning it right into a soil additive.
“A good friend turned me onto worm farming practically 10 years in the past,” Taylor defined. “I have been doing it ever since.”
Laurie Taylor retains her worms in a bin of shredded newspaper, greens and banana peels blended in with soil for composting to fertilize her vegetation at her residence in Le Mars, Iowa, Thursday, March 28, 2024.
Not like a extra conventional out of doors compost pile, establishing a worm bin would not require loads of area.
Certainly, Taylor merely bought plastic containers, drilled airholes within the lids, and stored them in a spare bed room.
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Contained in the containers, she positioned moistened previous newsprints and enormous scraps of paper that may turn into the brand new residence for up-to-250 ravenous earthworms known as Pink Wigglers.
So, what do worms eat? Fruits and veggies, primarily. However steer clear of hard-to-digest issues like garlic and onions or one thing acidic like lemon and oranges.
Different no-nos embody giant scraps of meat and heavily-processed produce like child carrots.
Really, Taylor came upon that worms disliked carrots after instructing a category to elementary college children.
“Worms would nibble on a banana very quickly, but go away the carrots untouched for months,” she defined. “Afraid the child carrots had too many chemical compounds on them.”
Laurie Taylor exhibits among the worms from her bin of composting at her residence in Le Mars, Iowa, Thursday, March 28, 2024.
Ultimately, the worms will go away behind worm castings, that are wealthy in vitamins and might profit all forms of vegetation, together with greens, perennials, flowers, fruit bushes and herbs.
Taylor makes use of the worm castings, diluting it with water earlier than turning it right into a worm manure tea that she makes use of to spray on flowers she’ll promote at farmer’s markets.
Exhibiting off her containers of worms, meals scraps and soggy paper, she insisted it is a no-fuss type of composting.
“There isn’t a scent concerned,” Taylor stated. “So you possibly can hold containers indoors.”
Not like an everyday compost pile, there may be actually a no-work-involved undertaking.
“So long as you retain giving them one thing to munch on, the worms will do the remaining.”
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